Supporting the transition from individualistic to collective leadership: A longitudinal study of a university-healthcare partnership

Leadership is increasingly being viewed as a collectively enacted phenomenon that involves multiple individuals assuming leadership roles over time in both formal and informal relationships (Fletcher, 2004; Contractor et al., 2012; Yammarino et al., 2012). In contrast to the more traditional individualistic, or ‘heroic’, paradigm, the main point of interest for the collective leadership lens is not the characteristics or actions of a formal leader, but the processes of emergent, relational and dynamic leadership brought about by the members of the collective itself (Hiller et al., 2006; Contractor et al., 2012). These processes are intended to cultivate group members’ capacity and adaptability to navigate complexity (Denis et al., 2001; Ospina, 2017), resulting in their empowerment (Yammarino et al., 2012). There is a blurring of boundaries between ‘leaders’ and ‘followers’, or ‘managers’ and ‘subordinates’, with leadership seen as a dialectical process engaged in by participants, collaborators or partners and unfolding in the face of dynamic organisational contexts (Uhl-Bien, 2006; Vine et al., 2008; Currie and Lockett, 2011).